The next day, Huang Rang rose early. As she opened her door, passersby on the road outside immediately turned to look at her.

Di Yiqiu’s residence was located within the official quarters of Xuanwu Si, without even a separate courtyard. Outside the door was a small path that anyone could pass through.

In an instant, all manner of gazes converged from all directions, blocking her way completely. Huang Rang paid these people no mind—after all, outside her dreams she had endured plenty of scrutiny, and by now her face had grown quite thick.

She left her room and headed straight for Di Yiqiu’s study.

In Di Yiqiu’s study, several officials had already arrived early to wait. Though Si Tianjian’s four divisions currently had few personnel, there was no shortage of daily official business. Two Jianfu, four Shaojian, and various department registrars were all present.

Huang Rang glanced around and hesitated slightly.

The other officials, knowing that their Jianzheng had always been devoted to manual work rather than women, maintained perfectly upright expressions without letting their thoughts wander anywhere improper. Due to last night’s awkward incident, the Jianzheng was especially solemn before his subordinates at this moment.

“What is it?” he asked.

Huang Rang was quite considerate of his dignity and said, “There is a small matter. Could I trouble the Jianzheng to step outside for a moment?”

The Jianzheng was currently in his sage time and naturally had no intention of appearing furtive before his subordinates, as if the two of them had some illicit affair. So he said, “What matter cannot be discussed here?”

Very well then. Huang Rang thus asked, “Where are my socks?”

The various officials raised their heads to gaze at the sky.

The Jianzheng felt as though he’d been struck on the head. He retreated a step and involuntarily glanced at his desk—last night he had casually placed Huang Rang’s socks on the table.

Huang Rang followed his gaze, and in fact, not only Huang Rang but everyone looked over as well. Sure enough, that white silk stocking lay quietly in the corner of the desk. The officials had noticed this item earlier and had assumed it was a silk pouch. Only now did everyone suddenly understand.

Huang Rang stepped forward in a few strides, snatched up the socks, and turned to leave.

Young people these days really know how to have fun… A deathly silence filled the study. The various officials stared straight ahead, neither speaking nor smiling, striving to maintain expressionless faces.

After putting on her socks, Huang Rang made her way to the dining hall.

The food in the dining hall couldn’t really be called exquisite, but outside her dreams she had only been able to look without eating here. Now that she had the opportunity, she naturally wanted to taste a few bites.

As expected, Si Tianjian’s dining hall hadn’t changed in a hundred years and was still in its original location. Huang Rang walked in, where the aroma of food already filled the air. She approached the rice pot, and the kitchen helper serving food saw her and couldn’t help asking, “Miss, your face is unfamiliar. May I ask which department you belong to?”

Huh? Huang Rang said, “I’m a guest invited by your Jianzheng.”

The helper was taken aback, but because of her beauty, remained courteous and asked, “Does Miss have an identification token?”

“Well…” Huang Rang frowned, but since these were the rules, she couldn’t say much. She said, “I wasn’t aware of this rule, so I didn’t bring it.”

The helper was about to speak further when the head chef came over and said, “Miss, guests of Si Tianjian must present their identification tokens. If you don’t have one, I’m afraid you cannot…” He had only gotten this far when a serving boy came running over and whispered something in his ear.

Though he spoke quickly and quietly, Huang Rang still heard it. The server said—this young lady slept in the Jianzheng’s bedroom last night.

The head chef impatiently shooed away the serving boy, scolding, “Go, go, go! Acting so furtive in front of a guest—what kind of behavior is that?” After scolding him, he turned back to Huang Rang with a beaming smile and continued, “If you didn’t bring it, we certainly can’t let you go hungry. For a naturally beautiful young lady like yourself to come here and sample this humble one’s cooking is simply heaven bestowing glory upon this humble one. Please choose a seat, and this humble one will arrange something special for you.”

Huang Rang: “…”

It must be said that while Si Tianjian’s dining hall food might not necessarily be delicious, the chef was definitely a remarkable character.

Huang Rang chose a table and sat down. Before long, Di Yiqiu arrived.

It seemed the morning meeting had ended, and he was preparing to escort her into the palace. Huang Rang said, “I’ll prepare a list of what’s needed for the Twin Serpent Fruit. I’ve never seen this fruit tree before, so the required items will surely be numerous. You’ll need to assign someone specifically to procure them.”

Di Yiqiu turned his face away, made a sound of acknowledgment, his expression quite awkward.

Huang Rang could only continue, “There are also texts about this Twin Serpent Fruit that must be found—the more detailed, the better.”

“Someone will prepare them.” The Jianzheng didn’t look at her directly.

Before long, the kitchen sent over some food, and this time it was much more refined. This breakfast not only included attractively presented red date cakes but also tenderly fried eggs. Most wonderful of all was a bowl of milk sprinkled with rose petals.

Huang Rang wasn’t particularly fond of the other items, but this bowl of rose milk—which she hadn’t been able to drink outside her dreams—now piqued her interest.

She took the small silver spoon and scooped it bit by bit, bringing it to her mouth.

The Jianzheng’s gaze slanted over, hastily stealing a glance. Seeing that she hadn’t noticed him, he couldn’t help but look a few more times.

This woman was truly beautiful. The pale golden dress suited her well. Sitting in a corner, she was like a stream flowing through an empty valley, like abundant flowers blooming in a wasteland. When her eyes moved slightly, it was as if all beautiful words were born for her.

Her hands were exceptionally slender, fingers like spring onions. When gripping the silver spoon, even the spoon seemed enhanced.

Before long, the helper also brought breakfast for the Jianzheng. Naturally it was plain congee with side dishes, plus steamed buns. As the Jianzheng ate, he suddenly realized—from last night until now, his mind had truly been filled with tangled distracting thoughts that couldn’t be cleared away.

After Huang Rang finished the bowl of rose milk, her mood greatly improved. When her mood was good, she no longer dragged her feet and said, “Let’s go!”

Di Yiqiu ate his meal in an unhurried manner. Hearing this, he frowned and asked, “Go where?”

Huang Rang said, “Into the palace, of course. To see His Majesty’s precious Twin Serpent Fruit.”

Her proactive offer to help should have been a good thing, yet Di Yiqiu said, “We could also have them send it to Si Tianjian.”

Huang Rang was baffled—wasn’t it you who arranged for me to enter the palace? She asked, “What’s the difference?”

Di Yiqiu fell silent again.

Of course there was a bit of difference. After all, in the palace, he might not be able to visit as often. But the young man was thin-skinned—how could he voice such words?

After finishing their meal, the two walked out of the dining hall together.

Di Yiqiu seemed to have made up his mind and said, “These next few days you can stay at Si Tianjian. I’ll have someone send the Twin Serpent Fruit to Zhuque Si, and you can cultivate it there. All procurement will be handled by someone.”

There was no response from behind. Di Yiqiu turned around to see Huang Rang standing in place, examining him with a half-smile.

He raised his eyebrows slightly. “What?”

Huang Rang covered her mouth and laughed. “Could it be that the Jianzheng cannot bear to let this young woman enter the palace?”

Di Yiqiu had never imagined that he would actually be teased by a woman at Xuanwu Si. The Eighty-Sixth Prince was already thin-skinned to begin with. His face immediately darkened as he said, “Miss Ten, please conduct yourself with propriety!”

However, it would have been better if he hadn’t said this. Once these words left his mouth, Huang Rang simply pressed closer. How had the Jianzheng ever encountered such a situation? He only felt boundless alluring beauty approaching, while the beautiful woman’s warm fragrance and soft jade made his head spin and his hands and feet go weak.

He unconsciously retreated, but when he stepped back, Huang Rang advanced. Finally, his back pressed against the courtyard wall. Flowers and trees surrounded them lushly. Huang Rang placed one hand beside him, her nose almost touching his.

The Jianzheng’s speech became somewhat unclear. He asked, “What do you intend to do?”

Huang Rang raised her hand, her fingertip gently caressing his Adam’s apple, and said, “I thought that the Eighty-Sixth Prince couldn’t bear to part with this servant, so he wanted to keep me at Si Tianjian to see me day after day.”

Red lips were close at hand, the beautiful woman’s breath like orchids, every word carrying fragrance. When had the Jianzheng ever experienced such things? He felt suffocated and pushed her away with force, saying, “Absurd.”

“Ha.” Huang Rang retreated slightly, allowing him to catch his breath. Unexpectedly, she saw that his face was already completely flushed with crimson. How pure and innocent! At this moment, Huang Rang felt rather curious. Her fingertip lightly touched his shoulder as she asked, “You haven’t truly experienced a woman before, have you?”

That slender jade finger felt as if it were touching his heart. The Jianzheng showed no mercy in brushing away her hand, his face already unable to maintain composure. Seeing someone passing by on the path, he immediately called out, “Bai Qingyun!”

It turned out this passerby was none other than Qinglong Si’s Shaojian, Bai Qingyun. Bai Qingyun had long since noticed something was off between the two. He had turned to leave when he was called out. The Jianzheng said angrily, “Escort her into the palace!”

…Ha, so he actually got angry.

Huang Rang had no choice but to accompany Bai Qingyun into the palace. Along the way, Bai Qingyun suppressed his laughter, wearing an expression of wanting to speak but stopping himself. Huang Rang deliberately paid him no attention. Finally, Bai Qingyun couldn’t hold back and said, “If Miss Ten has feelings for our Jianzheng, you must act quickly.”

“Oh?” Huang Rang’s smile was ambiguous.

Bai Qingyun spared nothing in praising his Jianzheng. “Our Jianzheng comes from noble birth, holds high position and great authority. You’ve seen his appearance and character—saying he’s one in ten thousand wouldn’t be excessive, would it?”

“Not excessive, not excessive at all.” Huang Rang echoed agreeably.

Bai Qingyun immediately seized the opportunity. “There are countless women in the capital who admire him. However, in this subordinate’s view, he regards Miss Ten differently. Miss Ten has quite good prospects.”

Is that so? What a pity then. Your Jianzheng will still be a bachelor one hundred and ten years later, still living in the official quarters meant only for single officers. Huang Rang silently grumbled to herself.

Bai Qingyun continued praising Di Yiqiu, selecting his most glorious deeds to recount at length. He still felt it wasn’t enough, but they had already arrived at the palace’s side garden.

He led Huang Rang inside. In the garden, Dai Yue was already standing to one side. Upon seeing Huang Rang, she didn’t even dare raise her head. Instead, Eunuch Fu hurried forward, saying, “Oh, Miss Ten, this old servant has been waiting for you! Please take a look—what can be done about this situation…”

He led Huang Rang to examine the Twin Serpent Fruit tree. Bai Qingyun stood in place, watching for a while longer—this woman had a graceful figure and charming demeanor. She truly possessed myriad kinds of allure.

He wondered how confident their Jianzheng was. Alas, their Jianzheng’s luck with women… was truly worrying.

At least I did my best.

He shook his head and returned to Si Tianjian.

At this time, at Si Tianjian, Zhuque Si’s Shaojian Zhu Xiang had collected today’s magical instrument blueprints. She brought these blueprints back to Zhuque Si to proceed with their forging.

However, once the drawings were distributed, everyone quickly discovered the mystery on the back of the paper.

On the reverse of the blueprints, in strokes both bold and subtle, both solid and faint, were drawn eleven full pages of beautiful women in spring slumber… Moreover, the beauty’s poses, expressions, and charms were all different.

The officials of Zhuque Si’s Instrument Forging Bureau engaged in heated discussion for quite some time before finally reaching a conclusion—this had nothing to do with the magical instruments. The reason it appeared on the blueprints was probably because our Jianzheng… he’s come of age, hasn’t he?

Shaojian Zhu carefully filled out the instrument forging record.